MADIGAN ANNOUNCES $2.5 MILLION PAYMENT TO ILLINOIS FROM TOBACCO SETTLEMENT WITH HOUSE OF PRINCE AND SCANDINAVIAN TOBACCO

Chicago – Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that Illinois has received just under $2.5 million as part of a $55.4 million settlement reached with House of Prince A/S and Scandinavian Tobacco, S.I.A. to resolve a dispute over enforcement of the 1998 tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA).

“This important resolution of a long-standing dispute provides the state with the money it is owed and preserves the MSA’s integrity,” said Madigan. “This settlement is part of our ongoing efforts to protect the public interest and public health by enforcing all provisions of the MSA in an effort to reduce tobacco use and protect consumers from its deadly consequences.”

The MSA requires tobacco manufacturers that signed the agreement to make annual payments to the states, in part to compensate the states for billions of dollars in health care costs associated with treating tobacco-related diseases under state Medicaid programs. House of Prince is a Participating Manufacturer under the MSA, and Scandinavian Tobacco is an affiliated entity of House of Prince.

The settlement resolved a three-year court dispute over whether cigarettes manufactured by Scandinavian Tobacco and sold in the United States from 1999-2003 were subject to the MSA’s payment requirements and other obligations. No cigarettes manufactured by Scandinavian Tobacco have been sold in the United States since 2003.

Aside from its payment provisions, the MSA created a broad array of restrictions on the advertising, marketing and promotion of cigarettes. For example, it prohibits the targeting of youth in cigarette advertising. It also restricts outdoor advertising of cigarettes, the advertising of cigarettes in public transit facilities, and the use of cigarette brand names on merchandise, among other limitations.

Joining in this settlement are all of the jurisdictions that signed the MSA – 46 states, four territories, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.